Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)

A HEV has a battery and electric motor installed, but is powered mainly by a combustion engine running on conventional or alternative fuel. The extra power provided by the electric motor allows for a smaller combustion engine and fewer emissions. The HEV’s battery does not need to be plugged in as it is recharged through regenerative braking and the combustion engine.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)

A PHEV has both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.  For the initial range of 15 to 50 km (depending on the model), the vehicle is powered solely by its battery. After this, the combustion engine starts; it provides power for moving the vehicle, as well as recharging its battery.

Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV)

Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREV) function and drive like electric vehicles, but additional operational time or range is provided by a second on-board fuel source and associated fuel converter. To qualify as an EREV, the vehicle must be able to complete an urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS) drive cycle without assistance from range-extending technology.

Electric vehicle configuration

An electric vehicle that has both a combustion engine and an electric motor can be set up in parallel or series. In a parallel setup, the combustion engine and electric motor are mechanically linked to the wheels and thus directly transfer energy to the movement of the vehicle. In a series setup, only the electric motor is used for propulsion; the combustion engine, when started, generates electricity for the motor and its battery.

Full Function Electric Vehicle (FFEV) / Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)

Battery electric vehicles have no internal combustion engine; they are dependent entirely on a battery that is recharged when the car is plugged in. These vehicles have the simplest architecture and fewest components, so their maintenance cost is likely to be lower. However, a large battery is required to give the vehicle a longer range; additionall,y such vehicles usually have less horsepower than those that also include a gasoline engine. The Nissan LEAF is one of the first commercially available BEVs.

(information taken from U.S. Department of Energy Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center and plugincars.com)

In the past, UWAFT has worked with propane, ethanol, hydrogen and electricity. In the current competition, the team will expand its work with electricity and plug-in hybrids.

All teams are expected to carry out a careful analysis of the available options using a literature review, as well as modelling and detailed simulation. The final selection will be made keeping in mind the requirements of the competition, consumer acceptability, budgetary and skill constraints, and other factors.

Since the competition is currently in its first year, the UWAFT team does not have access to the car yet. After successfully completing the tasks set out for the first year – which include submitting a number of engineering reports, creating presentations, communicating with the public, and others – the team will be given the keys to a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu at the beginning of the second year. New components will be integrated and the car will be ready for testing sometime during the second year. After some fine-tuning and optimization, it will be ready for the competition at the end of the third year.

We welcome visitors at our new garage in E5-1103 at the University of Waterloo. Come by anytime and see what’s happening! You can also contact us at

We are also interested in specific donations of equipment, parts, and services; take a look at this page for details.

Take a look at the Join UWAFT page for more info.

The team is mostly made up of undergraduate students working on the project as volunteers. Some members of the team work with UWAFT as part of a class project; for example, 4th year mechanical engineering students do design work as a class project, and the outreach team is comprised of students from the Environment and Business program doing their final project.